Lamp-cord adjuster.



F. C. MEZGER.

LAMP CORD ADJUSTER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 1s. 1912.

1,050,068, Patented Jan. 7, 1913.

llifilf liihii Hofmmn FREDERICK C. MEZGER, OF GATUN, CANAL ZONE.

LAMP-CORD ADJUSTER.

T0 e?? fir/wm it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK C. MEZ- orn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gatun, Canal Zone, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Lamp- Cord Adjusters, of which the following is a specification.

rllhis invention appertains to improvements in lamp cord adjusters, its-primary object being to provide an adjuster comprising independently movable sections or members between which the slack in the cord may be held taut, and by means of which the length of said cord may be increased or decreased.

Not only is my invention suitable for application as a lamp cord adjuster having the above advantages, but it is capable of use on ropes, cables, or the like, w iere it is desirable to quickly take in or release slack in said ropes or cables.

ln previous constructions of lamp cord adjusters the slack in the cord hangs down loosely, not only interfering with the lamp itself, but the liability of entanglement by any moving' object is considerable, to say nothing of its unsightly appearance.

Bly invention is designed particularly for taking up all this slack without the necessity of tying knots. and in such a manner that the two sections of which it is composed will take care of the maximum of slack both between said sections and substantially parallel with the main portion of the cord.

As will hereinafter appear, the weight of the lamp connected with the suspension cord is compensated. by the use of double movable pulleys held in position on the cord by frictional contact in such a manner that the pulleys aforesaid lie in substantially the same vertical plane.

For a full understanding of the present invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my invention applied to a lamp cord; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Throughout the following detail description and on the several figures of the drawings, similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

Specically describing my invention, and

referring to the drawings, l designates a suspension cord, such as an electric light cord, connected at its upper end with a ro- Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Application filed. May 13, 1912.

Patented J an. 7, i913.

Serial No. 697,009.

sette 2, and having at the opposite end the incandescent lamp 3. The adjuster consists of the movable member or frame el, which lay be made of liber or any suitable-insulating material, to comply with Fire Underwriters rules or meet `with other requirements. The frame e' is formed with the spaced lateral projections 5 at its upper and lower portions, said projections having openings therethrough through which the cord l passes. A pulley 6, is mounted in the frame and for neatness and other purposes preferably entirely housed within said frame. "While it is not essential, it is desirable ifk the frames be not of insulating material, that suitable bushings 7 be screwed into the openings in the projections 5, as shown in the drawings.

The weight of the frame 4 and all the slack of the cord will cause a frictional engagement with or a clamping action of the projections 5 on said cord sufficiently to support it at any desired position thereon. By slightly raising the frame and bringing the openings in the projections 5 in alinement with each other, the clamping action is released and the member l may then be readily moved as desired upwardly or downwardly on the suspension cord.

The cord l, as stated, passes through the projections 5 of the frame t, and downwardly, going around a pulley 8 in the lower frame 9, upwardly around the pulley 6 in the upper frame t and downwardly again through the bushings 10 secured in openings in the projections 12 of the lower frame or member. The lower section of the adjuster above mentioned is preferably of eX- actly the same construction as the upper member 4, its position, however, being inverted as will be obvious, and it is frictionally held in place on the cord in a similar manner thereto.

From the foregoing it will be understood that a pull of the cord on the wheels or pulleys tends to bind the frames on the part of the cord which passes through the openings in said frames, and the greater the pull on the part of the cord lying outside the space between the two sections of the adjuster, the tighter the grip of the frames on said cord will be. When, however, the frames are held so that the openings in each are in alinement with each other and the lamp cord, or more correctly speaking, in the same vertical plane, they may be easily moved up or down on the cord, so taking' up or releasing slack and thereby lengthening' or shortening; the lamp cord between the rosette and the lamp at its opposite end.

lt will be apparent that the sections of my adjuster are independently adjustable and as will be obvious by reference to Fig'. l of the drawings, raising of the lower frame will lengthen the cord three times the amount of movement of said member. It the lower member is raised and the upper frame lowered until they meet the length of the cord will be six times as great as the amount of movement. rllhis is an advantageous feature both in connection with taking' up the slack in lamp cords and also in connection with any other character of flexible members where the length is desired to be made quickly adjustable.

Having` thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. In a lamp cord adjuster, the combina tion of movable members, and a suspension cord upon which said members are mounted, each of said members having1 frictional engagement with the cord, and means carried by each member about which the slack in the cord passes, whereby both of said members may be adjusted or each independently adjusted to increase or decrease the length of the suspension cord.

2. ln a lamp cord adjuster, the combination of a pair of movable members, a suspension cord upon which said members are mounted, and means for rictionally holding,`

'each member in relative adjusted position on the cord aforesaid, each member being' adjustable upwardly, downwardly, or t0- ward each other to take up slack 1n the sus pension cord and hold said slack taut between the members.

8. In a lamp cord adjuster, the combina.- tion of independently movable members, and a suspension cord upon which said members are mounted, one of the members aforesaid being' arranged below the other member in reverse position to the latter and normally held in the same vertical plane with and by the weight ot the lower member, whereby the slack in the oord is held taut and parallel to its main portion and between the members aforesaid.

4l. In a lamp cord adjuster, the combination with a suspension cord, of an upper movable member mounted on said cord, a second movable member mounted on the cord below the first mentioned member, roller bearings carried by said members about which the slack in the cord passes, and means for trictionally engaging; said members with the cord.

5. ln a lamp cord adjuster, the combination ot a pair of frames, spaced projections extending` from said frames and having openii'igs therethrough, a suspension cord passino; through the openings aforesaid, and pulleys journaled in the frames about which the. slack in the cord passes, said frames being' movable on the cord independently of each other to increase or decrease the length of said cord.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERCK C. HEZGER.

llVitnesses C. C. BAILEY,

ALBERT A. CLAMBACH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ef Patents. Washington, D. C. 

